farmgineer

I wear big, obvious headphones most of the time I’m anywhere in public. This usually helps to prevent people talking to me. Less of a problem here in Japan in general, though, which I like.

I’ve been deeply disappointed by Take-Two and its CEO for years.

I was originally thinking of grabbing parts as they go on sale finally (this PC is from 2018ish, I think, and I guess I could upgrade some bits), but I think I’m just going to wait and get a laptop. In part because I do less gaming, the gaming is less intense, and I’m thinking about trying to spend part of the year living outside of Japan which would make the logistics of shipping a heavy full tower around (or even mid if I downsized) just too much of a headache. Still not 100% sure, though.

There’s a lot wrong with this.

new nuclear plants are politically untenable now

Was the case but not so much now, especially as rising prices and inflation are crunching families. Several parties now include at least reviving shut-down plants that are safe to do.

the grid infrastructure isn’t good there

Could you elaborate here?

When the sun stops shining, it stops shining for the whole country

We’re not that small, even going on the main islands alone.

When the wind doesn’t blow, it doesn’t blow for the whole country.

And this is just plain wrong for a number of climate and geographical reasons.

I’ve lived in Japan for more than a decade both in greater Tokyo and rural Tohoku in addition to traveling all around it.

I went lemmy (very early, still with auto-refresh, etc.) for a very short time due to hating it to kbin, later mbin, and now piefed. I’m not sure if I like piefed better. I don’t care about mastodon or other similar platforms so that may change your decision.

Japan: monthly for most salaried jobs, anywhere from the same day to monthly (longest by law) for other jobs.

This is not true everywhere as you say. I live in the countryside and we have no buses, a train that takes 50 minutes to walk to is cancelled a lot of the time in some seasons, and roads with no shoulder nor sidewalk where cars fly down at 20 over the posted speed limit.

Japanese moped laws cap them at 30 kph even. All ebikes must be peddle assist, may not have a throttle, and the assist will turn off at a designated speed (17kph I think?) as a point of reference.

Yeah, Japan is similar to this as well. I’ve had positive experiences all around, but I know some who have not (especially with corona which really worried me for how prepared we are).

The good:

• not always being reachable. Less immediacy. More self discipline without instant answers
• 3rd spaces caused people to mix who wouldn’t otherwise. There are fewer these days. It also kept people more civil (in one way or another). Likewise, it provided a buffer against disinfo in some senses since people would call BS on something that was wrong. Contrast this to life today on the internet with weird bubbles and conspiracy theories spread like crazy
• more togetherness and hopefulness. Some of this is probably because I was younger, but even in my really rural, conservative US town, no one was against conservation, not wasting water, being more eco-friendly, and trying to help stop the acid rain and ozone hole. That somehow became very politicized and hopelessness has taken over
• people were in the moment, not filming the moment. This especially sucks at live shows compared to the past. Also people doing dumb shit in public for an internet audience didn’t exist for obvious reasons.
• the entertainment was what was on or what you made. No endless distraction or scrolling. More imagination, more involvement in things rather than just posting about it online.
• More privacy, fewer devices constantly sending any telemetry or personal data

The bad:

• not being reachable has consequences in terms of emergencies
• it was easier to get stranded in the past
• things that were missed by forgetting a schedule at home or not knowing it and not being able to look it up
• learning languages was worse IMO. Certainly less variety where I was
• much more casual sexism, homophobia, racism, etc.
• navigation was sometimes harder since maps needed to be updated and one needed to know and to buy the new one. Not a big deal, though, in most areas
• obvious things like medical and other sciences being much more behind. More death.
• HIV/AIDS scare and its consequences on people

I’m sure there’s more that will come to me later.

I found this one a bit weird at times after a couple of Japanese folks introduced me to it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usavich

Who steals a porch? Seriously, the nerve!

I don’t know what a boy kibble is. I do make something with similar ingredients (though chicken, tofu, or seafood rather than ground beef), except I put it in a bowl rather than make it a pain in the ass to assemble and eat.

Joke answer: whomever my wife would let us.

Actual answer: I don’t know. I’m in my mid 40s. If I had to start over for some reason and was looking for a serious relationship, at least 30s as the minimum. Max would be low 50s, probably, though I’ve not thought a ton about it.

Actualer answer: if I ever lost my wife, I doubt I could/would pursue a serious relationship again or at least for a long enough time to make my answer above probably innacurate.

I work in Japan and get paid in yen so that seems unlikely. Indeed. I am basically at the median us salary with the exchange rate. I’ve bought two phones in the last 11 years (and won’t replace my pixel 6 until it dies). I also work two jobs.

I’ve never felt like I fully belonged anywhere. It doesn’t really bother me anymore most of the time.

I said it aloud and still didn’t get it. I assumed it was something about case/queso.

Xennial here. I got rid of most social media years ago (FB, twitter, etc.) and never signed up for a lot of others. I’m replacing my google pixel watch with a pebble. I’m open to ditching my android google phone as well once something works properly with all the Japanese government and banking services. Thinking about how to degoogle.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows back in the '80s and '90s, but I definitely feel like we should take back some of our balance, security, and comfort (though streaming and recording video can stay).

My pepper grinder is clear (except for the actual grinding mechanism, of course)

In the early 2000s, then-girlfriend and I were at a goth club we went to every weekend. Just had a weird feeling that night and decided to leave early. Someone fatally shot a guy we knew not long after we left. I don’t know if they ever found the shooter or the motive. In years of going there, I saw I think two fights ever and it was university fratboys who came to look at the freaks. All in all, we were quite a peaceful crowd (mosh pit nonwithstanding).